Tag Archives: Nintendo

Switch

Princess Peach Showtime: a short run on stage, destined to be forgotten

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I finished Princess Peach Showtime last night, and I came away with a resounding feeling of “that was all right”.

It was decent. It was fine. It was okay. I enjoyed it well enough. But it didn’t set my world alight. At the same time, it wasn’t bad. I didn’t hate it. I don’t feel the need to rant and rave about things it may or may not do “wrong”. It was just… fine.

That’s a bit of a shame, though, given that this was the first time Peach had taken the starring role in a game since 2005’s Super Princess Peach on Nintendo DS. I’m not entirely surprised that Princess Peach Showtime ended up being how it is, particularly after playing the demo, but I do feel like there could have been a bit more to it. So let’s talk about that!

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Switch

Princess Peach: Showtime! – some impressions from the demo

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I like Mario games, but I enjoy it more when Nintendo gives their other characters a bit of time to shine independently of the portly plumber. Which is why I’m so intrigued by Princess Peach: Showtime!, a game that seems to have been attempting to distance itself from the “platformer” designation in favour of… what?

Well, a demo came out for it yesterday, so I downloaded it today and gave it a play over lunchtime. The demo is pretty brief, consisting of just the game’s introductory sequence and two individual levels — one for Peach in her Swordfighter costume and another in her Patissiere outfit — but it was enough to intrigue me.

Let’s take a closer look, and ponder what I hope to see in the full game when it comes out later this month.

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Famicom Detective Club

Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind – a truly compelling mystery

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The Famicom Detective Club games are something that I’d been meaning to get around to for a while, but have only just picked up. Having played through — and adored — first episode The Missing Heir, I was keen to follow that up with its prequel, The Girl Who Stands Behind.

Honestly, I was expecting more of the same, and to a certain extent that’s what you get with The Girl Who Stands Behind, at least in mechanical terms. From a narrative perspective, however, The Girl Who Stands Behind is arguably considerably more ambitious than its predecessor, and makes for a mystery even more compelling to unravel a bit at a time.

So let’s take a closer look at the 2021 remake from Nintendo and Mages, available as part of a double-pack with The Missing Heir — sadly, only digitally in its English language incarnation.

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Retro Select, Videos

Retro Select: Boom Blox

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When we first heard that Steven Spielberg was making a game, I think the last thing anyone expected was a physics puzzler for Wii. And once that had been revealed, I think the last thing anyone expected was for it to be really good.

But Boom Blox is both of those things — and I’d go so far to say it’s an essential part of any Wii library today. Offering a wealth of fun and exciting things to do for both solo players and groups of friends, this is physics puzzling done right — and not a sodding Angry Bird in sight.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

short;Play, Videos

short;Play: 51 Worldwide Games

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Also known as Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, this title is an essential part of any Switch library.

It marks Switch-era Nintendo making a keen effort to attract the same “family-friendly” audience that they courted with the Touch Generations games on Wii and Nintendo DS. It’s also a great way to learn or brush up your skills on some classic games, whether you’re playing solo or with friends.

Check out the tabletop action in the video below, read some more words about this great game here on MoeGamer, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Videos

Atari A to Z: Octopus

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Nintendo’s Game & Watch series of LCD gaming handhelds might not be the first things you’d think needed converting to other platforms — but on the occasions when we have seen adaptations of them, they’ve always been a lot of fun.

It helps that their simple gameplay remains somewhat timeless and thus easy to update with slightly fancier presentation without having to make significant changes to the mechanics. So that’s exactly what a group of Polish developers did on 2011: they took on the second of the “Wide Screen” Game & Watch releases, and converted it to Atari 8-bit.

The result is a simple but immaculately presented and enormously addictive little game. I give you Octopus.

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Isabelle

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At the time of writing, everyone and their dog (no, uh, no pun intended) is playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch.

I am not, because I’ve never really “got” Animal Crossing for one reason or another. I tried both Wild World on DS and New Leaf on 3DS and found myself tiring of both quite quickly… though I must confess I’ve always liked the gentle, relaxed atmosphere — and the creative aspects of New Horizons are rather appealing, so I’m not ruling out giving it a shot at some point in the future!

In the meantime, however, despite my general ambivalence towards the series from a gameplay perspective, I do understand the widespread love for Isabelle. So let’s give her some time in the spotlight!

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Cover Games, Pokémon Sword and Shield

Pokémon Sword and Shield: The People of Galar

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One thing that it’s always quite easy to forget about Pokémon is the fact that it not only features tons of the eponymous monsters… it also has people in it, too. And they have plenty of their own stories to tell.

Pokémon Sword and Shield may not appear to be quite as overdramatic in terms of “stakes” as some previous installments in the series — at least, not until the delightfully over-the-top finale — but it definitely has something to say, and its setting is quite relevant to this, too.

Specifically, the games have quite a bit to say about the nature of fame, the cult of celebrity and what a struggle a life in the spotlight can really bring, as desirable as it might seem from an idealised perspective.

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Cover Games, Pokémon Sword and Shield

Pokémon Sword and Shield: Living a Trainer’s Life

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When the original Pokémon games were announced, I didn’t initially realise that they were RPGs — at least partly because I wasn’t overly familiar with how RPGs worked myself at the time.

Nowadays, of course, I know much better. But “RPG” is such a broad term, particularly when you throw its tabletop counterpart into the mix. There are lots of different ways you can approach the idea of an “RPG” from a mechanical perspective, and lots of different games over the years — including Pokémon — have experimented with the formula.

Pokémon Sword and Shield are, of course, no exception. Let’s take a closer look at the game’s mechanical components and contemplate how these games approach the idea of you “role-playing” as a Pokémon Trainer.

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Cover Games, Pokémon Sword and Shield

Pokémon Sword and Shield: A Grand Tour of Galar

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As we’ve already seen, the first few Pokémon games were set in regions modelled after particular regions of Japan, but from the New York-inspired Black and White onwards, the series has looked more globally. And Sword and Shield is no exception.

Specifically, the Galar region that forms the setting for Pokémon Sword and Shield is modelled on the United Kingdom, particularly mainland England, Wales and Scotland.

As most regular readers will probably know, I am a British person, so who better to explore the locales of Sword and Shield and try to figure out if they have real-life counterparts on our grotty little island? Well, I’m sure you can name several, but you’re stuck with me for now, so read on…

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